RadioShack Buoyed by Digital Conversion

The mandatory switch for all U.S. televisions to go digital in 2009 provided a boost for RadioShack(RSH Quote) in the first quarter.

The electronic retailer posted an 11% jump in earnings to $43.1 million or 34 cents a share, buoyed by strong sales of digital converter boxes. Analysts were expecting earnings of 22 cents.

Revenue in the quarter grew 5.6% to $1 billion. The company sold more than one million of the digital converter boxes during the quarter, which resulted in about $70 million in sales.

On the downside, the retailer saw weakness in sales of GPS systems, wireless accessories, digital cameras and digital music players, as the competition from Best Buy(BBY Quote) and discounters like Wal-Mart(WMT Quote) has intensified, and as consumers have cut back on discretionary purchases.

The stock was up $1.35, or 12.41%, to $12.14 in early morning trading.